Joan Smalls Designs Denim So Comfy You Can Sleep in It

"I always knew that I wasn't going to be the model that was just the model, you know?"

Joan Smalls is one busy girl. She just wrapped another killer season on the runways of Milan and Paris, strutting her stuff for designers like Fendi and Balmain, and shot the Victoria's Secret Swim special on her home turf in Puerto Rico while serving as sort of a mentor to young models she considers friends, like fellow Estée Lauder girl Kendall Jenner. Basically, she seems bored, so to give herself something else to do, Smalls teamed up with True Religion on an exclusive denim collection.

This is not a particularly easy feat for a model to accomplish. It seems commonplace nowadays for a model to have multiple side gigs, but it's fairly rare that a brand will actually let them design. Smalls is humbled by the opportunity, but still very confident and unfazed by the career quick-change. And while she stars in the campaign styled by Patti Wilson and shot by Steven Klein, she does not appear in the lookbook. She left that up to another model—since she is the designer, after all. Smalls says, "Well, it's just a natural evolution, and I always knew that I wasn't going to be the model that was just the model, you know? I always wanted to be a businesswoman and to have a voice and a say in my own career and just the freedom of expression."

Yesterday, I sat down with the supermodel to discuss this freedom of expression, her style instincts, and how her boyfriend's sweatshirts inspired her.

How did this collaboration come about?

I always wanted to design a collaboration and do like a capsule collection or design something. Just to have a say, you know? I feel like we're always so immersed in what we do [as models], being backstage and doing fittings, that sometimes you have that expression that isn't always being shown.

What do you look for when you're finding your own pair of jeans?

One, that they're timeless and that you can wear it no matter what season it is. Also that they're super comfortable. So [in my True Religion line] they're super stretchy and comfy and high waisted. So it gives you that versatility, and then of course these two colors [dark blue and black] are like staples in your closet you need.

Okay, so what are some of the features of the jeans you designed?

With the white jeans, I wanted a cool little zipper detail. Because it just like makes it more fun or gives it the rocker edge. And gunmetal is my favorite color, so I made sure that the hardware is all that color.

Courtesy of True Religion

And you were one of the first models to ever be known for street style, like before it really became a thing. So how are you infusing your own personal style into this collection?

I'm always mixing it up. It's not only one thing. I do like a tomboy sexy, you know? Like I throw on a pair of heels. And then I'm always wearing my boyfriend's sweatshirts and that idea came from there and for the crop tops it's like bringing the two together. Or sometimes I do sneakers with a dress or a skirt so there's always merging two styles in one.

Where do these instincts come from?

Probably at a really young age. I saw a picture of me with my sisters and all my sisters are like done up, and I have like a red dress with some blue little plastic shoes, a different color stocking [laughs]. I mean I look super cute and on point but you feel like, 'Wow, that child has a mind of her own.' I was always really creative and I'd have like a little—remember that brand Le Tigre, which is like Lacoste but it has the little tiger? I had like stripes so I would do those cutoffs with that and that was like my tomboy look with some little sandals running around. So it went from girly to boy to whatever I felt like. There was never a style that defined me.

Right now, what's your most comfortable, go-to kind of look?

Umm, probably a pair of jeans.

Fair.

A pair of good jeans that you can travel with. Like a lot of the times I'm on a plane. I hate wearing something that makes me feel uncomfortable because I have to go to sleep in it. Or you're always like readjusting, so I wanted to make sure that this collection is like that, that it just felt like your second skin.

Are you sharing it with all your model friends?

[Laughs] Everybody is getting a package!

Priced from $58 to $238, the new Joan Smalls x True Religion collection is available now at True Religion stores and at TrueReligion.com.

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